Traction-wheel



H. W. ADAMS.

TRACTION WHEEL.

APPLICATION man Amso, |3917.

.Patented Mar. 9,1920.

/NVENTORJ HARRY W. ADAMS l W/TNESSES ATToR/vs Ys.

HARRY W. ADAMS, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.`

TRACTION-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mal'. 9, 1920.

Application led April 30, 1917. Serial No. 165,438.

To all whom t may concern." e

Be it known that I, HARRY ADAMS, a citizen of the United States, lresident of Minneapolis, county of Hennepin, State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Traction-Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

In the operation of atraction machine,

considerable difficulty has beenexperienced in providing wheels suitable for all condi-y tions of soil and use. A wheel that is adapted for use on soft ground and provided with the usual cleats or grippers obviously is l .hereinafter pointed out in the claim.

wholly uiisuited for running on a highway, as in moving the machine from place to place or for running on hardV ground where a machine of this type is frequently used for traction purposes.

The object, therefore, of my invention is to provide a wheel havin Va rim ofA such construction that it will a apt itself to the varying conditions of the soil Where the machine -niay beused or for running the vmachine from place to place on the'highway.l

Theinvention consists generally in vari-v ous constructions and combinations, all Aas described and particularly' In the accompanyingk drawings forming part of this specification,

lFigure l Vis a sectional view through a traction wheel embodying myinvention,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of. a portion of the wheel. v v

In the drawing, 2 represents the wheel hub and 3 a series of spokes arranged lin groups at each end of the hub and radiating therefrom to the rim. This rim is composed of a central raised portion 4f having an outer tread 5 on which the wheel -i'olls Vin traveling on hard ground, all other portions of theV wheel,'except'possibly the ends of the ribs, being out of contact Vwithrv the soil at such time. From this tread 5-the rim has sections 6 inclinedpinwardly toward the hub, the surface of such inclined sections being concave, as indicated at 7 Between these concave areas are raised portions 8 and extending from these raised portions diagonally across the .concave areas toward the center of the wheel are ribs 9 which form cleats or grippers for digging into the soil and increasing the traction power of the wheel. These ribs gradually merge into fthe surface 5 and said surface will be substantially smooth and thefwheelmay roll easily thereon without bumping or jarring.

As soon, however, as it strikes a piece of p' soft ground where greater traction is desired, thev wheel will sink in and the innerportions of. the ribs9 will come in contact with the soil and as the ground over which vthe machine may -be moving becomes softer and the wheelsinks Vto a greater depth, a`

greater portion of the ribs will be brought into engagement with the soil and the tractive power of the wheel correspondingly increased until such time as the entire width of the wheel rim is in engagement-with the soil. I am thus ableto adapt the wheel fory all conditions of the soil without the necessity of mounting cleats thereon temporarily ywhen it is desired to use the machine in soft soil, or removing them for running on a highway or the hard soil. The wheel in a sense automatically adapts itself for all the varying conditions of the ground over which it may be running. When the -inachine approaches a hard piece of ground the wheel will roll on the tread surface 5 at the center and the cleats or ribs will be substantially out of contact with the soil but upon` striking soft ground again', the wheel will sink in and the cleats will again become operative.

Invarious ways the details of construction herein shown and described may be modified and still be within the scope of my invention( I claim as my invention: A traction wheel comprising a rim convex in cross section to form an annular tread surfaceatjthe center 0f the rim, said rim having diagonally arranged concave areas on bothsides of said tread surface and ribs l also extending diagonally on each side of said 'tread surface between Vsaid concave areas from the apex of said tread surface to the edges of the rim, said ribs gradually decreasing in depth from their outer toward their inner ends and coperating with saidv concave areas to increase the wheel traction' in soft ground, the outer portions of said ribs and said concave areasV beingout of contact with the soil when the Vvvheelis rune ning on hard ground. n Y y In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 18th day of April, 1917.

. HARRY W. ADAMS..

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